Mental Illness in the Cosmere

[Hundredlives]

As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression for most of their life, it was such a relief to pick up The Way of Kings and read an author who depicted real world mental illnesses in an constructive and engaging way. From Kaladin's depression to Shallan's own struggles, I have felt like Brandon does an amazing job at creating relatable characters who deal with poor mental health. To actually determine what makes his style of writing unique, I have launched a research project into analyzing how different authors discuss mental health. It would be super super helpful to get other fans' input into their experiences, so if you have a couple of minutes (it really will only take like three minutes) and have something to say about this topic I would really appreciate you filling out the attached survey. It is completely anonymous but will really aid me and my fellow researchers. In addition, you complete the survey, you will be entered in a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift card. Thank you so much in advance!

https://byu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3eXmaKtRXV2r9OZ

Edited June 5, 2020 by Hundredlives
Thanks AonEne :)

[Honorless]

Done

[AonEne]

I took it.  

Just as a side note, the term Multiple Personality Disorder hasn’t been in use for decades - it’s Dissociative Identity Disorder now, and Shallan doesn’t quite meet the requirements for that disorder. It’s probable that she has some other type of dissociative disorder with the combination of her trauma and her Lightweaver status. No idea if you planned to talk about her or not, but I thought you should know. 

[Hundredlives]

5 hours ago, AonEne said:

I took it.  

Just as a side note, the term Multiple Personality Disorder hasn’t been in use for decades - it’s Dissociative Identity Disorder now, and Shallan doesn’t quite meet the requirements for that disorder. It’s probable that she has some other type of dissociative disorder with the combination of her trauma and her Lightweaver status. No idea if you planned to talk about her or not, but I thought you should know. 

Oh my goodness thank you so much for pointing that out! I am actually an economist which never left much room for abnormal psych classes. But I was sooo confident in my survey writing abilities that I told my psychologist buddy I could handle this part if he wanted to start pursuing some avenues of research that is more in his wheelhouse. I don't think he will EVER let me hear the end of this  

[Kaymyth]

What Shallan has is definitely not Dissociative Identity Disorder. A lot of folks come to that conclusion, but there are some distinct differences between what Shallan is doing and what happens with DID.

Brandon is indeed very conscientious about the mental illness and non-neurotypical representations he puts into his work. He's also admitted to making some mistakes in his earlier books, and works hard to improve as he learns more.

 

[Shard of Reading]

I accidentally did not fill anything out. Ignore the blank responses.

[DalinarTD]

Just wait until you read Oathbringer.  I don't think you'd call it mental disorders necessarily but he does dive deep into emotions and pain.

Spoiler

("The Spiritual you; the person beyond pain, and error, and uncertainty" -OB).

This isn't really a spoiler but it is a small quote from the final page of Oathbringer.

[Delightful]

On 06/06/2020 at 7:20 AM, Kaymyth said:

What Shallan has is definitely not Dissociative Identity Disorder. A lot of folks come to that conclusion, but there are some distinct differences between what Shallan is doing and what happens with DID.

Brandon is indeed very conscientious about the mental illness and non-neurotypical representations he puts into his work. He's also admitted to making some mistakes in his earlier books, and works hard to improve as he learns more.

 

She does definitely dissociate, but so do many people who dont specifically have DID.